


The Beginning

by Serum12389



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Additional Tags to Be Added, Cussing, Demons, Does it count if you're the parent?, Family, Gehenna, Gen, Irresponsible brothers, Kidnapping, Satan's A+ Parenting, brothers are idiots, lots of kidnapping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-06 00:11:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11589027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serum12389/pseuds/Serum12389
Summary: Rin passes out before he can escape the Gehenna gate.





	1. The First Chapter

Shiro slipped into the Gehenna gate almost gracefully, his fall one moment that stretched itself into an eternity as it etched itself in Rin's memory. He stared, unblinking, at the body that floated in the gate for a moment before a small scream escaped his lips and Rin pulled himself closer.

Searching his face for any sign of life, and listening to his heart for a beat yielded no results. Rin was forced in that moment to confront a truth that shattered his fairytale life, one where demons existed only in fiction and the bible, one where his inability to hold down a job was his greatest concern, one where he himself was a human, you see, now his father was dead. It was all real now.

"No..." Rin whimpered, shaking his head. He didn't want it to end like this, Shiro had died trying to protect him, and there was nobody left to save him. There was nobody left to look up to. The only thing Rin saw when he did look up, searching for any other way to escape, was Kurikara.

Resolve pushing away that helplessness, Rin gripped the handle and pulled himself up. "Hang in there," he told Shiro, believing that maybe a doctor could fix him, that if he could get himself out of this then anything would be possible.

The blade slid out easily enough, and Rin lifted it above his head, frowning but still feeling sweet freedom just around the corner. Then a wave of exhaustion hit him, being dragged down again from that high.

He swung the blade down at the gate, but there was no force behind it. He hadn't even noticed that he was down to his waist. Rin tried to destroy the thing again but he could barely keep his eyes open. He shoulda just thrown the sword as far away as possible... Then, he passed out.


	2. The Second Chapter

Rin's sleep was restless, and there some sort of terrible revelation waiting to pounce upon him as soon as he woke. His dad had killed himself to save him. To save him from his real father, Satan. Rin did not yet have to deal with these facts, however. He slept on the edge of consciousness, not tired but physically exhausted.

It was a peaceful, almost trance-like state, much preferable to the memories awaiting him. When Rin did wake up, he did so slowly, aware that he was still tired and though there was a dim acknowledgment that something was not right, he ignored it. Wherever he was, it was warm, and quiet, and smelled... faintly like sulfur. His eyes shot open. Rin's home didn't smell like sulfur.

Rin sat up, untangling himself from the dark brown sheets he had been lying in, ignoring how worn out he felt. Rin sorted through all that he had just remembered, it was a lot to deal with. He didn't just remember everything, it replayed in his head almost as vividly as when the events were happening. Something twisted in his stomach as he recalled those final moments of awareness and with a deep breath he surveyed the room he was in.

Even though the lighting was dim, consisting of a few flickering torches, Rin could see quite clearly. He blinked slowly, wondering why that was. Every miniscule movement he made, and every breath he took was amplified. His senses were sharper and everything around him seemed newer, not just because he was somewhere he had never been, but also because his perception had never been so sharp before.

The room was large and dark, not completely because of the faint light. The brick walls were a dark orange, almost red, and everything else in the room was similarly gloomy. The furniture, chairs and a table and even the bed was made of dark, unfamiliar wood. Even the carpeted floor was black, adding to the darkness.

The carpet was soft under Rin's bare feet as he stood up, ignoring the rest of the room for the vaulted windows on the opposite wall. He pulled the black curtains back curiously, unsure of what he expected. The sky was reddish pink and there were two red suns very close to each other that seemed to suck as much light from around themselves as they put out. They appeared more as ovals than circles.

Rin blinked in surprise, it wasn't what he would expect the sky of hell to look like. The red suns were not too startling, but pink, even as red as it was, was a little girly. Almost in response to that thought, the sky brightened to an orange-red, and the suns appeared to grow both brighter and bigger. They moved slowly across the sky, from the upper corner of the window he was looking out of, to the center.

There was an eerie feeling he got as he stared out at the sky, though it was perhaps the most clear and beautiful sight he had ever seen. An explosion of color, like a perfect sunset. Rin shook his head and looked downward, but all he could see was a thick fog that reflected the pink light making it almost look like cotton candy.

Rin wasn't there for sightseeing, however. He backed away from the window, because of the heavy fog he doubted that it would be the safest escape route. He closed the curtains, the opening of which having not made the room lighter anyway.

There were three doors in the room, two next to each other in the wall by the head of the bed, and one on the wall that his bed was against. Since the later was closer, he tried to open it first. He twisted the knob, but the heavy wooden door didn't budge. His tail drooped in disappointment, and he moved to the other two.

A jolt of surprise tore through Rin and he looked down at his tail in shock, not having noticed it before. It was furry and midnight blue, almost black and even darker than his hair. Instead of being pointy like he expected a demon's tail to look like, there was a tuft of soft fur at the end. So it's true...

The next door he opened was a closet, with tons of clothing, all in black various shades of blue, from as light as the sky- well, Assiah's sky- to really dark midnight blue. At the end of the closet there was a mirror, and Rin looked himself up and down, seeing all the changes with a frown. ...I am a demon. Probably the smallest change was that his features were all sharper, with just that change he could pass for a human but he would still have a more... predatory... aura.

That was not the only change, however. His ears had become much longer and pointier, and he two balls of flame imitating horns on his head. Rin's eyes were very, very blue, and his pupil was red. He opened his mouth and saw that his teeth were pointy too. Not like vampire's fangs, which he would have preferred, every single one of them was sharp, like Satan's had been when he possessed his father.

Rin sighed, wondering what he had done. Should he have tossed the sword away? He hadn't exactly accomplished anything by drawing it. Guilt and regret mingled with his worry. Rin looked away from the mirror. If he didn't get out of there, then it all would be for nothing. There was still a chance that he could find a way out. If he did he could...

Go where, exactly? The teenager suppressed the tears that had sprang up in his eyes, and he exited the closet. The next room was, unsurprisingly, a bathroom. He was glad that it had an actual toilet, the general feeling he got from the place was not modern but medieval. Thank God, or whoever, that Gehenna had plumbing.

Rin decided to change out of the black pajamas he was wearing, they wouldn't help him in an escape. The clothing that Rin looked through was plain, but very soft. He put on a button-up shirt that matched his hair almost exactly, and a pair of pants that matched them. He found socks and a pair of black shoes as well.

Rin had been avoiding looking at the mirror, but he did when he was finished dressing. He looked... like someone else. He didn't pay much attention to his reflection usually, and that added to his better vision did not help the feeling that he didn't belong. In fact, there was no torch inside the closet, the only light was the small amount that trickled in from the open door, and the fire from his head. Still, he could see just fine though he knew he shouldn't.

There was an almost unsure tap at his door, and he stepped out of the closet to glance at it wearily. Not waiting for a reply, the door swung open to reveal a brunette in a maid outfit holding a tray of food, looking at him with an uncertain frown upon her face, though she was probably trying to hide her nervousness.

She was a demoness, with brown spikes starting at her forehead and continuing down her spine. Her iris was shaped similar to Rin's own, except it was a normal black one and not red. "Your highness," she said, stepping into the room with a small bow.

Rin was still staring at her, unsure of what to make of this demon, when she set the tray of food on the table and bowed again, backing away to stand by the door. "If you need anything else, tell me," she said evenly.

He looked from her to the food, an unfamiliar meat and pale white vegetables, as well as a glass filled with a clear liquid he assumed to be water, then back to her again. He was hungry, but he was more confused and he hadn't met any human-looking demons besides Astaroth and Satan, and even they hadn't been in their true forms.

"Prince?" She asked questioningly, "you do speak Japanese, correct?"

Rin nodded. "Who're you?"

The demoness blinked at him, frowning in confusion. "I am a servant. Who I am is not important."

Rin stared at her for another moment before awkwardly taking a seat at the table while the demon stood there, completely silent. The food looked interesting to say the least, but when he actually took a bite of it, he found that the meat tasted okay enough, and the vegetables were actually sweet, tasting more like honey than plant. After the first bite Rin dug in, realizing how hungry he really was.

When he had finished eating and drinking, the servant picked up the empty dishes. "Do you need anything else, your highness?"

"No," Rin replied, not used to this 'your highness' stuff, yet also knowing she wouldn't let him correct her. "Thanks."

"Your welcome," the demoness replied, exiting with one last bow. This time, Rin noticed the two demons standing guard outside his door. He couldn't see what either of them looked liked underneath the heavy armor they wore, but one of them looked back at him, and he could see his burning orange eyes, with no pupils, through the visor of the helmet that appeared to be modeled after a rhinoceros.

The door closed, ending their mini staring contest, and Rin couldn't help but wonder if the demon's face did look like a rhinoceros's underneath the helmet. Rin waited for a few moments after the servant left, then he stood up and tried to open the door again. He wanted to try it, just in case, even though he knew he couldn't fight the guards.

When he failed, quite predictably, at opening the door, he collapsed into the bed with a noise of frustration. He had twisted, yanked, pulled, and pushed, and it hadn't even budged. He really was stuck here, all alone, with no means of escape. Shiro really had died for nothing. There were a thousand things that he wished he would have said that night, but he hadn't said any of them.

What about Yukio? Where was he in all of this? He didn't (shouldn't) know about demons and exorcists, or the fact that their real father was Satan himself. While Rin should be doing something to get away from him, and out of Gehenna, he couldn't even open a goddamned door.

His frustration sparked and he found himself covered in a layer of blue flames before he calmed himself down. The fire didn't burn the bed, it glowed where the flames hit it but interestingly enough it didn't show any damage. The glow subsided after a few seconds and staring down at the bed he sighed. Anger wouldn't help him, he needed to think his way through this. Couldn't be that hard.

Then the doorknob started to turn, and Rin sat up, looking at it apprehensively. Somehow, he knew who was on the other side.

Satan stepped in the room with an air of authority, and Rin growled without even intending to. Satan should have left him alone. He shouldn't have literately dragged him to hell against his will. Rin's tail whipped in agitation and his hands clenched into fists.

The white-haired demon looked back at him, amused at what he considered childish anger, though Rin was more than justified. Satan closed the door and then leaned against the wall, arms crossed and blue, red-pupiled eyes staring back at him with interest... It was almost uncomfortable.

Rin had a lot to say to this... this... was there a better word to describe him than demon? If there was, Rin did not know it. However, looking at the tall, flame-horned man before him, the words slipped out of his mind like water down the drain.

"You don't actually think you are intimidating, do you?" Satan asked, showing all of his teeth in a piercing smile that reminded Rin of the first time he had seen him.

That memory sparked and the blue flames appeared again, wrapping around him like a second skin. Rin had always lashed out a lot, ever since he was little. Satan was a more than deserving target of his rage. "You-" Rin's words stuck in his throat. Whatever he said didn't matter. It's not like he could convince him him to let him leave, and no words could change the past.

Satan sighed, he knew that this was going to be difficult. Rin was a child, he couldn't possibly understand that the man who had raised him was evil. Though Satan had to admit that Shiro wasn't that bad, just a little too good to raise his sons.

"I what?" Satan asked, still amused by the half-demon's behavior. Rin didn't think it was that funny. Satan doubted that anything he said or did would be met with any response besides hatred, and he wasn't used to catering to anyone else's emotions anyway.

"How dare you?" Rin asked, still aflame, blue eyes drilling into Satan.

"How dare I?" Satan asked, amusement morphing into something darker, and Rin's flames died down as his anger was dampened by fear.

"How dare that fucking exorcist kidnap you and hide you for fifteen years?" Satan snarled. For a moment they just glared at each other, then Satan added with a growl, "I don't let anyone fuck with my family."

Exorcists had been tolerable pests until they had done just that. They fancied themselves the last line of defense against the demons, when in fact they merely picked off the low-level whelps and it took the best of them to hold their own against a single demon king. Kidnapping his sons was one of the worst things they had done so far, and the fact that only one exorcist had been killed was irritating.

The fact that he had only managed to get one one son back was unacceptable.

"You messed with my family," Rin reminded him.

Satan shook his head, cursing Shiro, it was not the first time in the last fifteen years and he had a feeling it wouldn't be the last. The exorcist hadn't taught the kid anything about demons, yet he still managed to brainwash him.

"If Shiro was your father," Satan hissed, "then who the fuck am I?"

Rin did not have an answer to that. This monster was nothing to him. Shiro hadn't kidnapped him, he... Rin realized he didn't actually know how Shiro had gotten him and Yukio. But Rin knew he did not want to have been raised as a demon. His father hadn't kidnapped him... it was more of a rescue.

"What do you want?" Rin demanded, shaking those thoughts away. If Satan was in the right, then it meant... but he wasn't. He was Satan, the epitome of evil. Rin shouldn't listen to him.

"I have what I want," Satan answered. "Except your twin, of course."

"Stay the fuck away from Yukio," Rin growled, standing up and taking a step towards him.

"Aw, don't worry, he won't take all of my attention away from you," Satan crooned, smiling mockingly.

Rin scowled, wondering if Satan was capable of taking anyone seriously. "I'm serious," Rin said, exasperated.

"So am I," Satan replied. This child actually expected him to let his practically untrained children run around Assiah, becoming exorcists. Pretending to be human. It was undignified, the princes of Gehenna being taught to exorcise demons when they should be learning to rule them.

Of course, he could forgive his children's ignorance (Yukio was sure to be just as difficult as Rin). They were only fifteen, even if they looked to be in their 400's. Human children sure did grow up fast. The age of adulthood for them was only eighteen.

Then he shrugged, wondering if it would be worth it to continue that conversation... Probably not, he was trying to be nice and give Rin enough space to get used to all of this, nobody could say he wasn't trying, but it was hard when he didn't really understand the kid.

"Welcome home," Satan told Rin, ignoring the child's glower as he exited the room. They could talk later, he had a kingdom to rule and a kidnapping to plan... Satan was just busy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have AP homework to do so updating may be slow. Also I am slow at updating so it definitely will be slow.


	3. The Third Chapter

There was not much for Rin to do alone in his room, all by himself. He was lying on the bed, plotting his escape, when his door burst open. Rin looked his newest visitor up and down. The demon appeared to be young, in his late twenties. Something in the way he held himself as he sauntered in with his trench coat swishing, or perhaps in his yellow, catlike eyes, made him seem older somehow.

The redhead's face was a blank mask as he looked around the room. The moment stretched until his gaze rested itself upon Rin, who stood up and considered this stranger with curiosity. The demon smiled warmly, almost opposite of Satan's malicious grin, as he took a step closer. "Hello, little brother," said the Demon King.

Before Rin had a chance to reply, another man, possibly related to him as well, ran into the room. This one was slightly shorter than his self-proclaimed brother, but still taller than Rin.

"Who are you?" Rin asked both of them, frowning. Shiro hadn't said anything about a brother... Then again, he hadn't had time to tell him much at all.

"Didn't those exorcists teach you anything?" The yellow eyed one asked, sounding neutral but there was a edge in his tone that made Rin slightly uncomfortable.

"Not really..." Rin replied. As soon as said that, the shorter demon let out a small sigh, as if relieved by this fact, and pushed a strand of long turquoise hair out of his face he introduced himself.

"I'm Egyn," he stated, his long aquamarine robe shifting as he shook Rin's hand.

The other Demon King was less formal. "I'm Iblis, King of fire," he told Rin before he embraced him in a crushing hug. Rin caught a whiff of campfire before he was released.

"Where are the others?" Iblis asked, a slight frown on his face as he turned to Egyn. In response, the shorter male shrugged. "Beelzebub said he was coming... and Azazel didn't want to get in trouble, as usual."

More brothers? Rin didn't even know what to think of the ones he'd met already. He hadn't known them long enough to even have an opinion, but they were demons so he wasn't sure what he was expecting anyway.

"Amaimon is-" Egyn started, but a green-haired demon with a lollipop sticking out of his mouth stuck his head through the door and interrupted him.

"More guards are coming," He informed them in a disinterested tone, as if he was talking about the weather or something equally inconsequential.

Iblis smiled, and it wasn't the warm one from earlier but a colder, sadistic smirk. "Sounds like fun," He said, eyes flashing with lethal intent.

"We shouldn't cause too much damage," Egyn protested, albeit unenthusiastically. "We didn't come here for a fight."

Iblis rolled his eyes, "Of course." He glanced at Rin. "This is Amaimon." Amaimon looked Rin up and down indifferently then looked back to Iblis.

"Let's go visit Azazel," Egyn proposed, "We shouldn't stay here."

"Yeah..." Iblis said, grabbing Rin by the arm and dragging Rin out of the room. As they exited, he looked down at the two guards who were lying on the ground. They were either unconscious or dead, Rin wasn't sure.

"What are you doing?" Rin asked, glad to be leaving the room both out of curiosity and boredom, but not too certain of the company he was leaving with.

"Borrowing you," Iblis said, looking down at his younger sibling with consideration. Rin couldn't help the feeling that he was being judged by these people. "Father didn't exactly say we couldn't."

"Actually," Egyn cut in, "he did."

Iblis shrugged. "We can clean up the guards and... Rin won't say anything."

Rin couldn't help but smirk at that. He doubted that plan would work but it was their disregard for Satan that amused him. He didn't think that their sudden arrival would help him escape, either, but at least he could get to know more about this strange place that he had suddenly found himself in.

That was when the guards that Amaimon had mentioned decided to show up. Rin wondered how he had predicted their arrival before they had even been in sight, and decided that it was some sort of demonic ability he didn't know of.

Seeing the Demon Kings standing beside their little brother and not any actual intruders they approached cautiously. The one in the lead, a hulking demon in thick steel armor with the same type of eyes that all of the guards seemed to have, stepped forward. "Satan has ordered the prince to be left alone," He growled.

Egyn strolled forward until he was eye to eye, well, almost eye to eye, given his height, with the armored demon and flashed a confident smile. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind us taking him for a few hours."

Rin frowned and looked up at Iblis, who was watching the confrontation intently. "You don't have to..." he mumbled. Iblis shrugged but didn't turn away from the group of guards.

"We have our orders," The demon protested, trying to step around Egyn, who in a swift motion shoved him back into the dozen other guards. They started to draw their weapons, brutal-looking maces and short swords, when Iblis raised his hand and a wall of fire appeared between them and the guards.

Iblis pulled Rin the other way, walking briskly towards some unknown destination. Egyn caught up to them and walked on Rin's other side, and Amaimon followed behind them silently.

The hall were made of the same reddish brick as his room, and also lighted by torches. It was also circular, and the door Iblis dragged him through led to a spiral staircase, made of more red brick. The staircase was long, Rin was glad they were going down. He had the feeling that going back up would be much more tiring.

"What did the exorcists tell you?" Iblis asked eventually, looking away from Rin, but he could tell it wasn't an idle question. The same edge that was in his voice earlier appeared again. He didn't know why Iblis was so hostile when it came to exorcists, besides the obvious.

"Practically nothing," Rin admitted, thinking back to what Shiro had told him. "I didn't even know demons existed until recently."

"So did you think..." Iblis started, sounding and looking offended as he glanced down at him, "that you were human?"

Rin nodded nervously, and Egyn blinked in surprise. "At least they didn't teach him anything..." Egyn started. Iblis frowned, and remained silent.

They ran out of stairs a little while later and the door at the bottom opened to a larger, wide hallway that had the same bland coloring but there were more doors and windows, revealing what looked to be offices. Demons of all kinds were pouring over paperwork. Some were out in the hallway, those ones averted their gaze when they noticed the Demon Kings.

Iblis started walking and Rin followed. He tried not to stare, but he was really curious. Iblis chuckled when he noticed but didn't say anything. There were many humanoid demons, it was almost comical how they slouched and carried large cups of what was probably the demon equivalent of coffee just like humans.

What intrigued him more, however, were the demons who did not look human. A four-headed dog ran past them carrying a scroll in one of its mouths, and disappeared through a dog-door that was built into one of the offices, there was one that appeared to be a dark cloud of energy that held a pen and was signing documents, and in the same office, there was a spider that was actually weaving the paperwork.

They walked past that area, and eventually their surroundings turned from red to more of a light tan. It wasn't brick, it was solid wall, and it was more friendly, even though there were no windows letting in any natural light, it still seemed brighter. All the light fixtures looked just like normal ones from Assiah, not torches. There were several empty meeting rooms and official-looking doors.

They went through several more different sections until Rin broke down and asked "What the hell is wrong with this place?" If the building was this strange on the inside, what did it look like on the outside?

"Huh?" Egyn asked, looking around at the hot pink walls, confused, then he shook his head with a small smile. "Father's castle also serves as the headquarters for every government agency. He, um, also switches his favorite color every couple of centuries. Red is his new favorite," he explained.

"Every government agency? Aren't there a lot of them?" Rin asked.

"Well yes, that's why this place is so large." Egyn sighed, "We would just use a key, but we don't come here often. Our own realms demand most of our attention, we have our own local systems of governing."

They walked for what felt like forever until they reached an area where the light blue stone was mostly covered in writhing black vines. Even the ground was covered in them. Rin tried to avoid them because of the disgusting squishing that they made, but it was hard. There were no windows or doors there, or else they were concealed by the vines. There was only one thing that stood out, a statue of what first appeared to be an angel, but after further inspection was actually a monster, the dragonesque wings were a washed out gray, it's face was chipped but looked like that of a lion, yet it was clearly female.

"Pardon us," Egyn said, and the angel twisted its head to look at them with its single remaining eye. Rin watched in wonder as it turned and put its clawed hand on the wall behind it. The vines shied away from from it's touch, and the stones turned away, rearranging themselves until a passageway was revealed.

Then the statue stood back, and let them pass through. The passage was dim but beyond it there was the glow of a thousand luminous plants, and Rin barely registered the sound of the rock locking back into place as he marveled at the beauty around him.

"What is this place?" Rin questioned, in awe.

"Azazel's garden," Egyn said, looking around at the chaotic assortment of plants that stretched as far as the eye could see with disinterest. Azazel's garden was more of a forest, there were gigantic trees and a variety of other plant life, mushrooms and flowers, all of them radiating pale blue light. Rin couldn't see the ceiling or any other walls besides the one behind him.

"Stay close," Iblis ordered, "Azazel is the King of Spirits, and this is a piece of his realm."

"What do you mean?" Rin asked, looking at a small white flower. As he stared at it, it shimmered, and he looked away. There was something off about the garden, no matter how pretty it was.

"If you get lost..." Egyn said, voice trailing off and out into the forest in front of them, which none of them had taken a step towards.

"Father would kill us." Iblis finished for him.

"And the garden could kill you," Amaimon supplied, startling Rin who had forgotten that he was even there.

Amaimon was the first to walk towards the forest, and they followed his lead. The forest opened up for them, branches moving out of their way to reveal a small path. Rin was between Iblis and Egyn, who were acting as if he would disappear at any moment.

Rin reached out and touched the trunk of a large tree that they passed, and it was solid, but the shapes of the plants around him still flickered when he paid them attention. This was sort of like the enchanted forests in legends, there was more to it than meets the eye.

They walked for a few minutes before they encountered a small stream, and the path twisted to follow it. "Where are we going?" Rin asked.

"All paths in this garden lead to Azazel," Amaimon explained. That... admittedly didn't make much sense, but Rin doubted that Gehenna was even capable of making sense.

The stream led to a clearing, where a demon in red robes similar to Egyn's was watering a small, unfamiliar tree. It's leaves were glowing bright orange in contrast to the pale blue of the other plants, and it's ebony bark was covered in moss.

The demon attending it, presumably Azazel, looked up at the small group. His crimson eyes settled on Rin and he sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be in your room?" Azazel asked, amusement fighting irritation in his voice.

"...Yes?" Rin answered, smiling nervously. How many brothers did he have, anyway?

Azazel shook his head, grimacing. "You three," he said, pointing at Amaimon, Iblis, and Egyn, "are going to be in so much trouble."

"We're always getting in trouble anyway," Iblis shrugged. He looked down at Rin. "Besides, we should be allowed to see our little bro."

Azazel crossed his arms, looking directly at Rin as if he could see through to his soul. His brothers seemed to know how to use their eyes as weapons. "Father doesn't care if you see him," Azazel explained, grinning at Rin knowingly, "he doesn't want the little one to try to escape."

"You wouldn't do that... right, Rin?" Iblis asked. The Demon Kings all waited for Rin's answer, and he yet again felt like he was being judged.

In truth, he did want to leave. He didn't like this place, everything in Gehenna felt somewhat off, the garden especially amplified that wrongness. He wanted to be back home, in Assiah... He didn't even want to know that term.

"I might," Rin replied. He felt like looking away but he stood rigidly staring back at Azazel, trying to keep his face blank. He shouldn't be feeling these emotions, like with those two words he had betrayed his brothers. He didn't know them, and since he was planning to escape he shouldn't get too attached.

Iblis considered his response for a moment before smiling, a reaction that wasn't that reassuring. "Well, we won't let you," he promised. "Gehenna is not safe for children."

Azazel turned back to his plant and resumed watering it. How much water did it really need? "If you're concerned about his safety, why would you bring him here?"

"To see you." Iblis said. Rin was getting tired of them talking over his head, and he sighed.

"Well, he's seen me." Azazel replied, not watering his plant anymore but kneeling beside it for lack of anything better to do.

"Oh well," Egyn sighed, looking down at Rin with an apologetic smile. "Azazel is a bit of a hermit, anyway, but he'll warm up to you eventually."

Azazel winced and looked up at them. "You know... there are a few other exits to this garden then the way you came in. You should use one of them."

"Why?" They all asked simultaneously.

"Please don't give us some cryptic response or start mumbling about spirit stuff again," Egyn pleaded, sounding exasperated and Rin supposed both of those things sounded just like this mysterious Demon King.

"No, but I figured you might want to find Beelzebub too before you got caught," Azazel said, the humor in his voice seeping through the indifference that he was clearly aiming for.

"Where is one of these other exits?" Rin asked, preferring to not see Satan just yet. He hadn't even been conscious for a day and he was already in trouble... how typical.

With a wave of his hand, Azazel cleared a path through the plants, even a few trees shifted to make way. The path was much straighter than the one they had followed to get there, and the demons had already made their way over there, Iblis pulling him along. "Thanks!" Rin called back, and Azazel nodded back at him, smiling.

Rin decided that he liked Azazel. He did really feel comfortable around any of the demons, however. Not just because of their race, though it was disturbing to think that he was in the company of powerful demons. Every move they made was fluid and graceful, almost predatory, and something told Rin, besides logic, that they were ancient, perhaps as old as humanity itself.

He had to get out of Gehenna, but he did not want to see an angry Demon king. Looking at one of them for too long was like staring at one of Azazel's flowers. They didn't flicker like spirits but there was a flash of deeper understanding where, for a moment, Rin could comprehend the full depth of the title 'Demon king', but in an instant it was gone and they were just... them. Whatever that was.

The path led to a reddish brick wall, which didn't seem to surprise Rin's brothers at all. Rin was thinking that if this really was an exit, there would be some sort of secret lever or something that would make the wall open up like it had for the statue, but Amaimon walked towards the wall and passed through it, followed by Egyn and then Iblis who was still dragging Rin around by his upper arm.

Rin was not surprised in the least when the exit led to a hallway that mirrored the ones that they had been through before, but he had been almost expecting to run into the wall instead of pass through it. Behind him, the wall was solid. It was only an exit, then. Rin was glad to finally be out of the garden.


	4. The Fourth Chapter

"Where are we going?" Rin asked. Now, instead of Amaimon, Iblis was in the lead.

"We could put him back," Egyn suggested with a shrug. "Beelzebub isn't in the castle, and his domain is definitely no place for an infant."

"I'm not an infant!" Rin complained, but he was ignored.

"It would be interesting though," Amaimon said, "you said this wouldn't be boring..."

Rin grit his teeth in irritation before their words sunk in. Wherever Beelzebub's domain was, it was outside the castle. Rin didn't know anything about Gehenna, but he figured that he couldn't escape while he was trapped in this maze of hallways. So, if Rin wanted to get out...

"What's in Beelzebub's domain that is so scary that I can't go there accompanied by three Demon Kings?" Rin asked Egyn.

"Beelzebub is the King of Insects," He explained, flicking his hair out of his face, "Nobody likes going there. It ain't pretty."

"Oh, so you're afraid of bugs?" Rin asked, hoping an attack at their pride would be enough to convince them to bring him there.

"Not particularly..." Egyn said, his dark blue eyes flicking from Rin to Iblis, waiting for his response.

"We don't want to push father that far," Iblis said with reluctance.

"We're already in trouble," Amaimon said, glancing at Rin, a mischievous spark in his eyes as he winked, letting Rin know that he wanted to go there too... Why, Rin didn't know, but he suspected Amaimon just wanted to stir up some trouble.

That was fine by him, he just wanted to get away.

"I can understand why father wouldn't want us around Rin, he is very fragile after all," Egyn added with a frown, "when he gets Rin back he might not let us see him again at all."

"Sorry." Rin looked up at Iblis, almost surprised by his apology. "For what...?" He asked.

Iblis shrugged, an almost human warmth in his yellow eyes. "For if you get in trouble. I might not be able to apologize after."

Iblis turned down some random hallway, Rin was starting to get a headache trying to memorize the route he took, but his choice made Egyn frown for some reason. "Shouldn't we use a key?"

"Right," Iblis said almost sheepishly. He procured a key ring with an inordinate number of keys out of his trench coat's inside pockets, and searched through them for a few moments before holding up a black one shaped like a centipede that Rin wouldn't have thought was a key.

Rin had to wonder what they all went to if none of them went anywhere inside of the castle.

Iblis walked up to a door that didn't even have a lock until he burned one into the metal. When Iblis opened the door, it didn't lead to an enclosed area like Rin supposed it would, but rather to a foggy dirt road, bathed in red light.

Iblis stepped out, and Rin let Egyn go before him. He hoped that Iblis wouldn't start dragging him around again, it would be easier if only Amaimon was watching him. He didn't seem all to concerned about Rin so he would be the easiest to sneak away from.

As soon as he stepped out, he had to pause at the sight before him. They were on a dirt road, made of dark dirt and not red like everything else seemed to be. The road was framed by dead trees and the only touch of green were the plants closer to the ground. They were sickly green, and the red lighting didn't help their complexion.

"It's too bad Beelzebub doesn't give us a key for inside the city," Egyn whined. "It's not like we'd use it often."

Rin grimaced. He hadn't even seen this city, but he had a feeling he wouldn't want to. He wasn't afraid of insects, but he didn't think demonic ones would be as easy to crush as the ones from Assiah. How would he get back there, anyway? One of his brothers might have a key or something, but he didn't think they would take it well if asked.

"My... Shiro Fujimoto told me Gehenna was like the mirror world of Assiah," Rin said, figuring that was a good enough place to start. "It doesn't look a lot like it."

"No exorcist has been to Gehenna," Iblis explained. "Azazel's realm," he pointed behind them, "overlaps with Assiah, and that's where demons go to and from Assiah."

Rin looked the way they had came, and saw nothing but thick fog in the distance. Azazel's realm... It could be dangerous, but Rin had to try at least. He would have to sneak away soon though, before they got to the city.

Rin nodded, then pretended to be lost in thought, it wouldn't be easy to sneak away in the middle of a conversation. After less than a minute of walking, Rin could see a black gate in the distance, and a large yet crumbling wall. They were getting close... but both Egyn and Iblis seemed to be lost in thought. Amaimon was right next to Rin, and while he appeared to perpetually bored, he was more focused than Rin's other brothers.

Rin slowed down a fraction, trying his hardest to make it look natural. He also looked out into the forest. He might need to enter it to get away faster. He fell behind Amaimon, and when he wasn't too far behind, but still a bit farther than Iblis or Egyn would be comfortable with, Amaimon looked back at him.

Rin didn't make eye contact, he just looked ahead and kept on walking, which apparently satisfied Amaimon because he turned back to face forwards. Rin let out the breath he had been holding and he looked behind him, heart still pounding.

He made a quick decision, and slipped off the path into the woods. The three demons kept on walking, and he started walking in the other direction. The plants didn't make a sound when stepped on, but a few vines slivered out of his way which was creepy. There were also no dry leaves so he didn't have to worry about those, either.

After a short walk, Rin couldn't take it anymore and he started sprinting away from his brothers as fast as he could. He kept the road in sight, but he knew that they wouldn't have a hard time finding him unless he got out of there fast.

Rin ran until he was panting and his legs were burning, and the only thoughts he had were about the next step. He had always been strong, and he had great stamina, so that was pretty far. He exited the woods and looked both ways. It was empty. He was separated from the Demon Kings by a wall of fog.

Rin didn't know how far away Azazel's realm was, but he hoped it wasn't that far. Rin hadn't been comfortable around his brothers, but there hadn't been any danger. Gehenna was the land of demons, and while Rin could protect himself with his flames, he didn't know what to expect.

Rin didn't notice when he entered the Spirit realm, the only reason why Azazel's domain was dangerous was that it was a land of illusion and trickery. The subtle shifting of the light and the flickering of the trees did not draw the weary teen's attention, and he only noticed that something was different when he was too caught in the spider's web to break free.

The light brightened from red to normal white light like the sun breaking free from a cloud. Rin looked up and he smiled at the familiar sight. The trees, when he looked down again, were not dead but flourishing with bright leaves dancing in the wind. The dirt road lightened and Rin wondered if this was Azazel's realm or Assiah itself.

The path led up to hill and Rin climbed up the slope, and then he found himself standing before his own front door. He frowned at the change in scenery, he didn't remember getting there, but he felt that thought slipping away. In it's place, there was joy, he was finally home.

He opened the door and there was everybody sitting at the dinner table, they had probably been waiting on him. That's not where the front door... but he wasn't standing in the front door, so everything was all right. Rin shook his head, how was he here? He looked down at his clothes. Blue hoodie? No tail or anything? Why would he have a tail?

"Ah, Rin, you've finally decided to join us for dinner," Shiro said with a displeased smile. Shiro?

"I thought you were dead," Rin said, confused.

"That's no excuse to be late," He replied, smiling. Of course, what was Rin talking about. He was late for dinner, he should probably make a better excuse than...

"No," Rin said. "This isn't real! What's going on?"

Rin felt his realization slipping away from him, but he growled. "No!"

The reality flickered for a few moments, before Rin was back in what he assumed to be reality, he was suddenly surrounded by black fog, only illuminated by his blue flames.

The fog had thorns, trying to rip into him but every time it got to close it burned with a scream. "What the hell are you?" Rin demanded.

The storm growled at him, and his flames grew a few feet from fear. Do not fear me, young prince. Do you not miss your home?

"Shut up!" Rin growled, unsure of this demon's motives.

I can bring you back there... if you let me have your power.

"I don't want to live in a daydream!" He protested. "I want to go home!"

The fog demon thing growled, thorns pressing against his flames, it was burning but still the flames started to die down as it invaded his mind. With your power, I can live again!

Rin shook his head, trying to clear it, but all the thorns started to dig in and he screamed. All there was was darkness, and in it he glimpsed only more shadows. Where am I? He wondered. There was no pain anymore, there was only nothing, nothing and fear. He couldn't hear the beating of his own heart, he knew he was in an illusion and he tried to reach for his blue flames but they were gone. Am I just lying somewhere bleeding to death?

One of the shadows got closer and started talking, it's words not Japanese but some garbled demonic language that Rin could understand for some reason. ŸǒɄ ƆȏƲƖɗ ђȃɣȩ ȴǐɣɕƉ įƞ Ą ĐʀȇäƜ... ņōŵ Ÿōů ŵįĻŁ Ɗȋə įŋ à ƝĮǤϦŧɯǼʀȨ.

Rin struggled to get away as the shadow reached for him, he didn't know what would happen if it touched him but it smelled like death and decay, and he was almost glad he could only perceive it as a shadow.

Then the shadow creature shrieked, clutching it's belly where something purple was suddenly sticking out. It fell forward as the darkness around Rin faded, yet she shadow stayed as it was, a vaguely humanoid fog with an arrow sticking out of it's back.

Rin could feel his wounds again, he had been injured by that thing's thorns, there were both scratches and puncture wounds, and both were really deep. He had shielded his head with his arms, but he still had a pounding headache.

He heard soft footsteps, someone wading through the grass and he looked up, wincing at the soft light. He was in a field, in knee-length grass that stretched as far as he could see. The person running up to him looked out of place. He was a dark spot amongst the peace and tranquility, with dark clothing and a darker, yet nonthreatening aura.

Rin frowned, wondering who this demon was, because of course he was a demon... Rin remembered where he was. Then he winced, the wind picking up and reminding him of his wounds. "Rin!" the stranger yelled as he collapsed.

The demon dropped his bow and knelt next to Rin, taking in his wounds. "Who'er y-you?" Rin slurred as he struggled to stay conscious. The headache and the blood loss were getting to him.

"Stay awake," The other commanded, picking him up with sigh. "I'm sorry... I should have been here sooner."

His eyes started to close as the demon started to run, but the demon shook him. "Please, don't sleep, don't die. I swear, I'm going to kill those idiots for this..." He complained.

Rin didn't understand all of what he was saying but he tried to stay awake. Yukio had said something about injured people needing to stay awake or else it would be bad really he didn't want to slip of into that dark, painless, warm, fuzzy...

The raven-haired demon kept rambling about his dumbass brothers and spirit demons and some other stuff that Rin didn't catch. He slipped into unconscious before they even got out of the Spirit realm.


	5. The Fifth Chapter

Rin opened his eyes, and closed them just as abruptly, the dim light having made his head pound. He rolled onto his side, cradling his arms and stifling a groan. He couldn't think past the pain so he just grit his teeth and hoped it would pass.

"Are you alright?" The voice wasn't that high in pitch, but it still hurt to hear it, despite the clear concern. Rin looked up at the other from between his fingers, not really wanting to make his head worse. It was the demon that had rescued him from the shadowy creature.

Rin supposed he was one of his brothers, a demon king, but he didn't look like the rest of them. He looked a little older than Rin, 19 at most, but Rin didn't know what that meant in demon years. He also wore a plain black hoodie and jeans, not robes or anything else that would have stuck out in Assiah. He would look just like a normal teenager, but his ears were way to long, his teeth too pointy.

Rin also noticed that he was back in the room he had had fist woken up in, his room, he supposed, and he might as well get used to that at least until he figured out how to get out of Gehenna.

"I have a headache," Rin replied slowly, "but I'm fine."

There was a flash of sharp teeth, the smile almost one of relief, but there was still a hint of concern in his violet eyes. "Do you...remember me?"

"Yes," Rin replied, slightly confused "You killed that...thing."

"Yes, I'm your brother, Beelzebub..." Beelzebub said, and Rin frowned.

"Why do you ask?" Rin questioned.

"The spirit that attacked you invaded your mind. It could have done a lot of damage in there," Beelzebub explained.

"It wasn't after my memories..." Rin mumbled. It had wanted his soul, or power, or whatever. It had altered his perception, only temporary blocking his access to his latest memories.

"Where's everybody else?" Rin asked, not sure if he was concerned for his brothers, or feeling guilty since whatever punishment they had gotten would be his fault.

"You probably won't see them for a while. Anyway, father wanted to see you as soon as you woke up," Beelzebub told him, taking in his younger brother's obvious discomfort and deciding that it would be better for his health to let him rest.

But Beelzebub knew better than to provoke Satan. It was an unwise thing to do, especially after what had happened. Beelzebub shook his head. He didn't understand why his older brothers made a game out of it.

Rin gritted his teeth and pushed himself up. He just wanted to lie back down and sleep his headache off, but he doubted Beelzebub would let him. Rin wasn't going to complain about it, though. Satan may have been the last person that Rin wanted to see, but he totally wasn't afraid of that bastard.

"I'll leave so you can get dressed," Beelzebub told him, going to the door as he stood up. "Will you be okay?"

Rin nodded, though he would like whoever was pounding his skull with a sledgehammer to knock it off. He sluggishly selected a new outfit, barely looking at it as he pulled it on.

Soon as he was finished dressing, Rin opened the door and found Beelzebub standing with Azazel, both of them were tense. "Something wrong?" He asked, and they both turned to look at him.

"No, Rin, why don't you go back to bed?" Azazel replied softly, and Beelzebub nodded in agreement. Rin regarded them silently for a moment before turning back into the room and shutting the door behind him.

If something was going on, he had to figure out what it was. Especially if it meant a chance at escaping. Why else would they want him to go back to bed without an explanation? As much as he would love to do that, to think that this time would be just like last time, he still wanted to escape.

Rin leaned on the door, waiting for what seemed like forever before twisting the handle slowly, wincing at every creak. The door was opened just a crack, barely enough for him to see out of, yet he could tell that they were gone. He smiled and threw open the door, which made him slightly dizzy.

There were no guards in sight, no brothers, just an empty hallway.

(***)

Iblis was the king of fire. Egyn was the king of water. They were powerful demons, each capable of breaking through the wards around True Cross. They did so with ease.

Iblis picked at his host's knitted sweater, and Egyn ran a hand through his own host's short hair. It was always strange not to be himself anymore, that was one of the reasons why he hated Assiah.

Well, not hated. Disliked was more like it. There were times when he found the perfect host, it was actually quite enjoyable then. Then there were times when he had to cling to his host to avoid falling out, it was extremely irritating.

There were many students at True Cross Academy, they didn't know how to find the one they were looking for especially if he was like every other human.

"It's not too late to talk you out of this, is it?" Egyn asked, glancing up at his brother.

Iblis raised an eyebrow. "Eager to get back to Gehenna?"

"No," Egyn replied quickly, "but I would prefer not to upset father any more than we have done so already."

Iblis smiled. "Too late."

They walked around but it became clear that they had no hope of finding him. After a while, Iblis slammed his fist into a wall and cursed. "Where the hell do we even start?"

Egyn shrugged and hoped that they could figure something out soon. He had to look something like Rin, right? But then again they should sense something off about any half-demon. In all his many years, he had only met a handful of half breeds.

Then they were approached by a man in the familiar garb of an exorcist. Iblis tensed up immediately. Before the man could even open his mouth, most likely for some biblical nonsense, he was up in flames. All he could do was scream.

They heard shouts in the distance and Egyn sighed. "You couldn't do something a little quieter?"

"Well, this was bound to end up in a fight anyway," He growled.

"Only because you're here..." Egyn mumbled. Iblis heard that, however, and turned toward him with fire in his eyes. Iblis could be calm and patient sometimes, but others the exact opposite. Egyn had gotten used to it.

"Hey look, exorcists," Egyn said, pointing towards three running figures.

Iblis narrowed his eyes and Egyn smiled back a him before they both turned and braced themselves for a fight.

One of the exorcists drew his gaze, a young, impossibly young, boy with brown hair, glasses, and two guns that he had just fired into Egyn's chest. He was going to do something to defend himself but Iblis shot a stream of fire at them, not even bothering to shape it into a fireball first.

Egyn leaped in front of the fire and blocked it with water he drew out of the ground. Luckily the fire stopped before the water had all gone up in steam but seeing the surprised look on Iblis's face he found himself between his brother and the exorcists he wanted to kill.

Two clips fired into his back reminded him why he was there quite painfully. "Found him," Egyn offered as he passed out.

One demon king was down, for now, one to go. Yukio didn't know what they were doing there, didn't care, because they weren't going to be there for long. He suspected it might be about him, especially since Rin was gone and Shiro was dead.

His eyes narrowed and he raised his guns again. They were the reason he was dead. All demons were to blame. Yukio shot at Iblis, who jumped out of the way of most of his bullets, and some holy water from another exorcist.

The king of fire was only still for a single moment, one in which Yukio was busy using to reload. Iblis scanned the faces of the exorcists quickly and frowned when he spotted Yukio.

"Ah, if I only knew you were an exorcist, I would have caused a disturbance much sooner!" The smile that appeared on his face was brief and angry. Yukio would have shot that smile off of his face himself, but he heard two gasps of pain, one on either side of him.

Looking to his side, one of the other exorcists was on his hands and knees. Yukio pointed a gun at him but kept the other pointed at Iblis. Iblis was uncharacteristically silent, waiting for the other demons with a look of annoyance on his face.

The exorcist grew pointy ears and sharp teeth, with an otherworldly aura that Yukio didn't like. It looked directly at him, almost through him, and started to say "Hello there little-"

Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by two gunshots.

Iblis saw his little brother shoot both Azazel and Beelzebub in the face at the same time and laughed. "Well, at least they taught you something-" He paused to dodge a few bullets "-useful."

Azazel was the first to recover from his wounds, though both his and Beelzebub's hosts should have been dead already. He grabbed Yukio's leg and pulled, pulling him to the ground. Yukio rolled over and would have shot him, but the demon blurred and the bullets went through him, but he was solid enough to bend over and yanked the guns out of his hands. He tossed them aside carelessly, out of Yukio's reach.

Yukio didn't know what he expected but the other demon, Beelzebub by the swarm of flies and other insects that had suddenly engulfed him, placed a foot on his chest gently and pushed him to the ground. He struggled but the demon was stronger than him.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the mines?" Azazel asked, crossing his arms.

Iblis smiled. "Our younger brothers are so precious to father, if I bring this one back..."

"I'm not your brother," Yukio snapped, glaring at them. Iblis growled and Azazel tsk'ed at him.

"I would be quiet if I were you," Beelzebub advised him. "Iblis doesn't like how you were raised by exorcists."

Iblis shook his head. "Look, let's just go back home to Gehenna. I'll bring the kid to father, we don't need to have any fighting."

Azazel opened his mouth to protest, but Beelzebub interrupted him. "Sounds like a great idea. No fighting. Nobody gets hurt."

(***)

It didn't take long for Rin to find himself lost in the halls. He was in a deep green section of the castle. Rin had not thought much about where he was going when he left, he had his headache to thank for that. He couldn't think straight and it wasn't clearing with time. He needed to rest.

Rin turned down another hallway, scanning it for something, anything, an exit sign would have been helpful. Anything but another hall with empty offices and break rooms, and various other things. He had found an entire abandoned movie theater not too long ago. The castle was itself a city.

His tail swished in agitation at the sight of locked doors hiding ancient rooms filled with dusty paperwork written in a language Rin couldn't understand. Possibly multiple languages. Then, he heard a door opening and voices from the hallway he had just left.

"-sure? You don't seem to know where you're going." A feminine voice asked.

"There's gotta be something in these old rooms that's worth it," A male replied. Their footsteps seemed to be nearing his location, Rin silently ran to the nearest door and started to open it very, very slowly. He didn't know what they wanted but whatever it was it would not be good for him.

The door creaked as he opened it and one of them cursed. "Someone there?"

His heart was pounding as he slipped into the room, closing the door behind himself as quickly as possible, and locked it. The room had a single desk and some dusty bookshelves, but besides that and some blank paper strewn across the floor, it was empty. Rin could only see anything by the light coming in from under the door, with his new night vision.

The footsteps outside were not running anymore, and were way to close for comfort. "We don't have time for this..." The female complained.

Rin closed his eyes and hoped they would just leave. He didn't know if he could take them, his head hurt and he was feeling weak, even with all the adrenaline in his system.

Then Rin heard sniffing, and the click clack of claw hitting the floor that sounded like a dogs... and it stopped outside his door. "Found something, eh?" The male demon asked, and the doorknob turned. Rin braced himself for a fight.

The demon cursed when he found the door locked, but he slammed into the door and Rin frowned as it gave a little. Every time it gave a little more, and after a few more times, the door fell down, almost landing on top of Rin but he jumped back just in time.

Rin coughed at all the dust that was suddenly in the air, and his nose wrinkled as the smell of something dead washed over him. Looking up at the demons standing in the doorway, he found the source of the foul stench. The two humanoid demons had red skin, and hair, even their eyes were red, probably some sort of camouflage, since even the sky was red. They were wearing basic armor that looked like iron to Rin, and a lot of their skin was showing.

Some patches of skin weren't red, there were what looked like infected, old wounds, some with bloody scabs, and others that were oozing pus. They were rotting. They seemed to not even notice their injuries though, both the female and the male looking at him with cold eyes, their weapons, short swords, drawn.

The demon dog growled at him, slipping between the two humanoids. It looked just like a really big wolf, except patches of it's fur were missing and so were chunks of it's flesh, which made him want to heave.

Rin grimaced, disgusted. The intruders looked from him to each other, annoyed.

"It's just a kid," the female complained, stepping forward slightly.

"Stay away from me," Rin hissed, sparking up defensively.

Their eyes widened, and she smiled sadistically. "And I thought you were just a rumor."

In a flash of metal, she swung her sword at him, and he blasted her with a burst of blue fire as he jumped back. She raised her wings and they were burnt but not very badly.

"Bastard!" The male hissed, and Rin backed up into the desk to avoid another swing. The dog ponced on Rin and pinned him to the ground. As he struggled to get the smelly thing off of him, his flames grew higher and it couldn't stand the pain anymore so it hopped off of him.

The male demon, who Rin had noticed was wingless, hit him in the back of the head with the pommel of his sword before he could get back up. Rin fell back to ground, seeing stars. Rin was a demon, son of Satan, but he was young and therefore not as tough as a full grown demon. And he had hit him very hard.

"Don't kill him!" Someone shouted. Rin struggled to get up, vision fuzzy and wondering why that jerk had needed to add that pain to his nasty headache.

For his efforts, he received a kick in the ribs and damn why is that demon so strong. One of the demons knelt down and tried to tie his arms behind his back, but he punched them. The demon grunted and Rin felt something prick his neck and he started struggling harder, hoping that he was just imaging that and he hadn't actually been drugged.

The demon held him down until the drug started to kick in, then when Rin couldn't fight anymore, he tied his hands behind his back and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.


	6. The Sixth Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, another chapter. It is a bit shorter than usual, but I would rather post a short chapter than none at all.

Yukio had found himself in the throne room of none other than Satan himself. The walls were white, but were stained blue by the light of many torches, and a large ball of fire that burned directly above the throne. The throne itself looked like flames, but after staring at it for a moment, Yukio realized it was actually a large crystal.

To Yukio's relief, it was empty. He didn't want to admit it, but being unarmed and in Gehenna itself, surrounded by demon kings, made him nervous. At least, that's the word for the terror he felt. He was still trying to play it off, but he didn't see any way to escape and that scared him.

Azazel noticed it and smiled warmly. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it here... I mean, at least you will get to see your brother again."

Yukio's eyes narrowed. "He's no brother of mine."

His tone conveyed none of the uncertainty that he felt. Rin was a demon, a threat. He didn't even know what Yukio went through, worrying over his brother and what he could do.

The temperature went up a few degrees and he glanced at Iblis. Iblis was frowning, but Yukio could see anger in his yellow eyes. "Why did you become an exorcist," he hissed. "To protect the world from demons like him? Like yourself?"

"I'm not a demon," Yukio said. "I'm normal. Only Rin had the flames."

Yukio expected for him to get mad, to argue with him and try to convince him otherwise. Egyn took a step in his direction, just in case, but Iblis only stared at him, horrified. "What did they teach you?" He whispered.

"What do you mean?" Yukio crossed his arms.

"You are aware of how children are conceived, right?" Azazel asked.

Beelzebub started to explain it, "When two people love each other-" "I know! I'm aware!"

The demon's looked at each other skeptically. "Do they know how-" "Yes, I mean humans understand biology, I think-"

Yukio stared at them until they turned back to him. Iblis gave him a look that was almost pity. "So, you do realize both you and Rin have the same father, right?"

Yukio didn't respond. Iblis sighed. "Our father is Satan. Satan. Himself. You know, the strongest demon to ever exist? You are just as human as Rin is."

Yukio didn't answer. Iblis wasn't right, Yukio just needed to think for a minute so he could refute that. Rin wasn't as human as he was. He was born a demon, probably was a demon now, given that he had been in Gehenna for so long.

Iblis just shook his head, disappointed. Egyn had been really quiet, but he and Iblis started to whisper back and forth, glancing at him occasionally. Azazel just sighed, mumbling to himself. Beelzebub looked confused and worried at the same time. He looked at Azazel and asked him if he could go get Rin. Yukio frowned, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Rin or not.

Azazel nodded sharply, and Beelzebub turned to leave. Then, the doors shot open with a bang as they hit the wall. Yukio flinched and turned towards the noise.

A single demon was walking straight towards them, expression unreadable. He was wearing a dark suit of armor which obscured his features, but this morphed to a black robe. It shifted again to a dark blue suit, which was apparently satisfactory because his outfit did not change again.

Azazel backed up a little at the approach of who Yukio assumed to be Satan. He pushed his glasses up and tried not to stare. He was, however, ignored. Satan's eyes were locked on Iblis, who muttered an apology and tried to explain himself.

Satan frowned and punched him, and Iblis staggered backwards, and was caught by Egyn, who looked up at Satan guiltily. "Erm, sorry, ah-"

"Don't worry Egyn," Satan assured him as he stepped forward. "I know it's Iblis's fault"

"He was going to get Yukio to regain your favor-" Beelzebub explained, and Satan frowned at him.

"He..." Satan seemed to finally notice Yukio.

Yukio looked him directly in the eye, refusing to show his discomfort. Satan looked him up and down and smiled. It wouldn't even look threatening if it weren't for the sharp teeth. It was almost warm. "I guess you really do take after your mother," Satan said softly.

Yukio blinked in surprise, he hadn't expected that statement. He had though about his mother, wondered who she was. Shiro had never said anything about her. He wasn't sure he wanted to know much about someone who would make children with the devil himself.

"What do you want from me?" Yukio asked. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Not sure," Satan shrugged. "Guess I just prefer to raise my kids myself. You guys are so cute when you're little!"

Sensing that his child was still glaring at him he frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"You can't expect me to believe that you just kidnapped us for the hell of it?" Yukio growled. What did he think this was, a game.

Satan raised an eyebrow. "You think that I would, quote on quote, 'kidnap' you because I thought you were useful? Have you met your brothers? They're powerful, sure, but they don't follow orders, or take me seriously, or..." He shook his head, chuckling. "You must be kidding me."

Yukio didn't reply. He was trying to make sense of what he had said. Why would he kidnap them for no reason, other than to 'raise them'? Satan wouldn't do things like that. Shouldn't do things like that.

"Where's the other one?" Satan asked, turning to Beelzebub.

Beelzebub shifted guiltily. "You were supposed to be watching him."

"I was! I just..." He looked over to where Azazel should have been, but he had sneaked away earlier.

"You didn't..." Satan's eyes widened slightly "You didn't leave him alone, did you?"

"Um, yeah?" Beelzebub said sheepishly.

"Fuck," Satan cursed. He ran out of the room and the others followed him, Iblis dragging Yukio with him. They didn't go far, only to the nearest doorway. Satan pulled out a key that took them directly to Rin's room.

Satan threw open the door and stepped inside. He froze in the entryway, then turned around to face them. "He's gone."

(***)

Rin was alone when he woke up. His head was pounding but it hurt less than before, but his back had it's own complaints. Sitting up he found himself in small, windowless room. The walls were gray and the floor was made of red dirt. The door was made of iron, and when he tried it, it was locked.

There was nothing to do, no way that he could escape. The only thing besides himself in the room was a bucket. Nothing he could use as a weapon. He focused on summoning his flames, and they burst out eagerly. There was, however, nothing he could burn with them, so he let them burn out.

Rin tried banging on the door and yelling, but nobody came. He spent hours there, sitting, thinking, pacing. When the floor finally did open, he jumped up and pulled out his flames.

"Don't even think about killing me," The demon rasped. She was one of the same species as earlier, and Rin looked away from her face, it was half rotten. "If you try to escape, you ill be killed."

Rin didn't want to stay there, but he figured he might as well listen to what she had to say. "Why am I here?"

"I was going to ask the same thing," the demoness replied. "What are Satan's plans for you? How did he hide someone your age from us so long? Why?"

Rin stared at her for a moment before realizing that she expected answers. He shrugged. "I don't know anything, I just got here. He wasn't hiding me, I was... hidden from him, I guess..."

"By who?" The demoness asked. Rin explained to her hat he knew, how he was raised by exorcists, and she took a moment to absorb all of it.

The demon slowly smiled, it was a warm smile, and she sighed. "I'm sorry for all this, I hadn't realized how young you were, or that we were on the same side."

"Same side?" Rin asked.

"Indeed. Satan is a cruel tyrant, he doesn't care about his people. He lets his sons rule over us by no merit of their own, none of them are fit for it and they don't suffer but it's hell for commoners like me."

Rin hadn't really thought about his brothers as actual rulers, but he could see how it would be a problem. He almost felt sorry for the citizens of Gehenna.

"So you guys are some sort of rebellion?" He asked.

"Yes," she replied, smile widening. "We want equality for all demons, no more class systems. We want freedom for all oppressed citizens of Gehenna. We want a democracy."

Rin looked down, thinking. This really wasn't his fight. All he wanted was to go home. He didn't know what to say, those words sounded sincere but he doubted she would have any problem with hurting him.

"What do you want from me?" He asked.

"Some help fighting would be nice. Your flames would come in handy. Our rebellion isn't doing well, your father eradicates every base he finds."

Rin nodded, he didn't really want to fight their fight but he didn't have any other option. Besides, he had a score to settle with Satan.


End file.
